SANDPOINT — The City Council debated several proposed changes to the city’s open container code, including allowing alcohol to be drunk openly at City Beach during permitted events.

The request to serve alcohol at a select area of City Beach comes from the organizers of CHAFE-150, an annual bike riding fundraiser for the Lake Pend Oreille School District by the Sandpoint Rotary. Race coordinator Mariah Williams said at the council’s Aug. 6 meeting that the construction of Averill Hospitality’s 56 Bridge St. hotel will displace the event’s long-standing starting and end point.  

"For more than a decade, we’ve had our check-in, start, finish and after-ride party on the lawn of the Best Western,” Williams said. “With that redevelopment, we would like to move our after-ride activity to City Beach Park so that we can maintain that identity that we’ve had for the ride.” 

While City Beach was the most controversial of the changes proposed, the council also discussed changing the code to allow for alcohol consumption during special events at the James E. Russell Sports Center and the Sandpoint Lions Club. No decision was made at the Aug. 20 meeting. 

Sandpoint Police Chief Corey Coon expressed several concerns about the City Beach proposal, primarily that the city cannot restrict alcohol consumption to just the CHAFE. Even if the council limits the timeframe, only allowing open containers during certain months, the change opens the door for any permitted event to have alcohol on the premises of City Beach Park. 

Councilor Justin Dick, who has worked with the CHAFE since 2009, said that the organizers have done an excellent job of keeping alcohol consumption contained at City Beach for the last 10 years. He said that he would like to limit the months and area of City Beach where the code changes. 

“You could still have the public using our public spaces, while having that [area] fenced to a group of 600-700 people,” Dick said.  

Most councilors concurred with Coon and said that they do not view City Beach Park as a place for events with alcohol consumption. Councilor Pam Duquette said that while she supports CHAFE, she’d rather see the event move during Averill Hospitality’s construction than allow alcohol at City Beach. 

“I don’t think that people come for the beach experience, they are bike riders, they come for the routes and support stations,” Duquette said. “It worries me about who could then have an activity down there.” 

Planning and Community Development Director Jason Welker said that he was in support of the proposals, viewing them as reasonable. He said that if the council isn’t in favor of City Beach, the CHAFE ride will be displaced, and he would need to work with the organizers to try and keep the event in Sandpoint. 

“Are donors not going to donate or go the extra mile, if there’s no alcohol?” Councilor Joel Aispuro said. “I want to be careful that we don’t conflate, ‘Oh the CHAFE is done because the beach doesn’t allow alcohol’ that’s not our choice, that’s their choice to be clear. They can still do the event there, if we don’t allow alcohol.” 

One of the possible options Welker mentioned was the JER Center and Travers Park, where the council seemed more favorable to opening alcohol consumption during events. Dick said that the city offering a large event space and alterative to the Bonner County Fairgrounds would be a great idea. 

Council President Deb Ruehle said that she would like to see the area limited to just inside the JER Center. While councilors Rick Howarth and Duquette expressed wariness about any city parks allowing the consumption of alcohol. 

"If I step back and say, ‘What is the purpose of City Beach, the Russell building, Travers Park?’” Howarth said. “It was for our community; it wasn’t to go have alcohol... to try and intermingle that family atmosphere, that we are trying to create there, with the separate events that have alcohol, I think is counter to what those event spaces were meant for.” 

The request from the Sandpoint Lions Club was viewed positively by the council as well. Although many said that they wish to limit the number of events with open containers, to keep the club from becoming a type of “neighborhood bar.” 

Welker said that the direction given by the council from that meeting will impact any potential changes he brings to them in the future. No decision on changes to the city code was made at the Aug. 20 meeting.